Amnesty Is a Travesty
by user Jaxhawk To better understand how we have arrived at a time and place in this Country where WE apparently are about to open our borders wide to illegal immigrants. It is important to briefly review the history of immigration policy and law in the United States. In 1790 Congress passed a law that excluded all but whites from becoming citizens. This policy was changed after the Civil War when Congress passed a law making all freed slaves American citizens. This was followed in 1870 when Blacks were granted the right to vote, although women were still not able to vote! In 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion act baring Asians from entering the Country. This law remained on the books until 1952 when the McCarran-Walter Act was passed. It lifted the barriers to citizenship for most immigrants from Asia. In 1965 Congress passed an immigration bill which gave preference to immigrants who had special skills needed here in the U.S., and allowed close relatives of United States citizens to apply for citizenship. During this same year President Johnson sponsored a bill that repealed the quotas that were in place for immigrants by national origin. Previous to 1965 the law stated that immigration by ethnic group would be limited to 3% of the current population of a particular ethnic group living in the U.S. This stipulation was included in the Immigration Act passed in 1921, and further restrictions were added in 1924. In 1990 Immigration law was passed with preferences included for people who were fleeing from oppressive governments. In the early years of our country the point of entry for all immigrants from Europe was Ellis Island. It was opened 1/1/1892 when three ships offloaded 700 people for processing. The total processed that year was 450,000 European Immigrants. By 1907 1,004,756 immigrants passed through immigration on Ellis Island. Which brings us to Our present Mess! It is estimated that we curently have between 12 million and twenty million illegal immigrants who live and most work in the U.S., and the President and Congress is on the verge of granting AMNESTY to all of them! The proposed immigration amnesty would benefit the 12 to 20 million undocumented aliens (illegal immigrants) currently living in the United States. An amnesty for illegal aliens forgives their acts of illegal immigration and implicitly forgives other related illegal acts such as driving and working with false documents. The result of an amnesty is that large numbers of foreigners who illegally gained entry into the United States are rewarded with legal status (Green Card) for breaking immigration laws. The United States has granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants through different amnesty and laws. Before the first amnesty in 1986, amnesty was only given on a case by cases basis. Amnesty was never given to a large group of individuals. The first (and supposedly one-time only) amnesty in 1986 gave about 2.8 million illegal immigrations the opportunity to change their status through the Immigration and Reform Control Act (IRCA). to them all. The leftists, who want these illegals to become legal so they could and will vote to promote more socialist programs , will protest that this is not really amnesty. But the following is taken directly from U.S.Immigration Amnesty internet site: "Undocumented Workers Currently in the United States: They could come forward immediately and receive probationary legal status. Bill creates a four-year, renewable Z visa for those present within the U.S. unlawfully before Jan. 1, 2007. Undocumented immigrants may adjust status to lawful permanent residence once they pay $5,000 in fees and fines and their head of household returns to their home country. People under age 30 who were brought to the U.S. as minors could receive their green cards after three years, rather than eight. Undocumented farm workers who can demonstrate they have worked 150 hours or three years in agriculture can apply for green cards. No green cards for Z visa holders can be processed until “triggers” for border security and workplace enforcement have been met, estimated to take 18 months. Processing of green cards for holders of Z visas would begin after clearing an existing backlog, which is expected to take eight years." With one stoke of his Presidential pen, the man who was elected twice by Conservatives who value their citizenship and want secure borders, will make a mockery of Ellis Island and all those immigrants who gained citizenship the legal way. I would expect the Leftist Congress to do such a dastardly act, but not President Bush, who if he gives amnesty to 12-20 million illegals makes a mockery of the "rule of law"! __NOEDITSECTION__ Category: Opinions Category: Opinions by User Jaxhawk Category: May 20, 2007 Category: AMNESTY IS A TRAVESTY Opinions From The Opinion Wiki, a Wikia wiki. From The Opinion Wiki, a Wikia wiki.